“No man but feels more of a man in the world if he have a bit of ground that he can call his own…”

  • 11 years ago
  • 1

So penned Charles Dudley Warner, best friend and fellow essayist of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (and his pen name was? Again, answers on a postcard to the usual address). Over a century on, the sentiment remains extant, but at the risk of sounding old before my time, I have to admit that in recent months I have begun to wonder what exactly it is that potential first time buyers are looking for in a property.  Is it a house in which to live and with any luck enjoy residing within or is it merely an investment opportunity?  Hopefully –  and if your chosen estate agent is doing his or her job –  there is some common ground, but the two are not necessarily wholly compatible.  The slight hint indicating the experience of those looking to buy is alluded to when they comment that this is their first step on the property ladder.  Now I am not knocking enthusiasm or the expedient of using one’s money wisely but a property that a first time buyer can afford – invariably with a mortgage – does not necessarily mean that it will triple in value in the next 5 years, thus allowing the now second time buyer to buy a BMW on the aforementioned mortgage money.  It can happen but people –  as always –  need to be realistic.  The property that will triple in value from its original sale price may well not be a property that someone wishes to live in, either solely or with their family . There is a reason why estate agents have a variety of additional tags to put on their ‘For Sale’ signs; ‘investment opportunity’ is not always the bedfellow of  ‘ideal first time buyer property’ or ”family home’. 

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